Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's leadership on this issue.

The Representative from Utah is the chairman of the Western Caucus this year, and given the motivation by the Chief Executive to move forward on the healthy forest initiative, I join with my chairman of the caucus as well as the rest of the caucus in an enthusiastic effort to try to make sure that the healthy forest initiative goes forward.

Mr. Speaker, as we debate the healthy forest issue tonight, I am reminded that we were approaching the 100th-year anniversary of what Idahoans refer to as the ``big blowup,'' that is, the fires of 1910. It was a series of 1,763 fires that ravaged some 3 million acres and killed 85 people during August of 1910. The hardest hit areas were the Clearwater National Forest, the Coeur d'Alene national forests of Idaho, the Lolo and the Cabinet national forests of Montana.

I would like to share with my colleagues, if I might, an excerpt from ``The Big Burn,'' a book that was written on the Northwest fires by Stan Cohen and Don Miller:

``Daylight was shut out as far north as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada; as far south as Denver; and as far east as Watertown, New York. To the west, officers of a British vessel 500 miles out of San Francisco said that they were unable to take observations for ten days because of smoke in the atmosphere caused by the big burn. Some claim that smoke from the big blaze reached one-third of the way around the world.''

This big burn started near a little town called Elk City, Idaho, a small community surrounded by dead and dying trees. That community is struggling to keep its one and only lumber mill in business. During the past 20 years, we have seen the growth of the surrounding forests double and the mortality rate from bugs and from viruses triple, all while the timber cuts steadily decline. In short, the sustainability of the forest is declining as the trees die.

A variety of factors have caused this monumental and potentially national disaster, including severe insect infestations, the practice of fighting nearly every wildfire and a passive forest management philosophy. The forest health crises on our public lands can no longer be ignored.

There are over 190 million acres of Federal land at risk to catastrophic fire. The national forest system is home to more than 72 million acres of high-risk catastrophic wildfire and more than 26 million acres at high risk to insect infestation and disease.

The administration must be commended for the action that it has already taken, which precipitated the healthy forest initiative through its current regulation to reduce procedural delays in preparing projects to reduce the fire danger and address forest health problems; but more must be done.

The Healthy Forest Restoration Act seeks to streamline bureaucratic procedures that stymie legitimate management efforts without unduly restricting public participation. Forest management projects could still be subject to rigorous environmental analysis as well as administrative challenges and lawsuits, but the process would be completed in a matter of months rather than in a matter of years.

Tough environmental safeguards in the bill would provide heightened restriction on management activities in inventoried roadless areas, and old growth trees would receive additional protection. At the same time, priority would be given to management projects near communities and the watershed.

The measure would also facilitate use of otherwise valueless wood, brush and slash for production of biomass energy, a key component in our upcoming energy bill; authorize Federal programs to support community-based partnerships addressing forest stewardship and watershed protection and restoration needs at the State and local level; and direct additional research on the early detection and containment of disease and insect infestations.

We cannot tolerate another season of death and destruction. We are past the analysis paralysis point, Mr. Speaker; and the point in this debate is that we must move forward. It is time we got to work on the ground. The sooner we get this legislation through Congress, the sooner we begin ensuring the future of our forests. We need to act quickly before Idaho is faced with another big burn.

I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding to me.

It has been, and when I served on the Committee on Resources last year with the gentleman from Utah, as he will recall, Dale Bosworth, the new supervisor of the forest, indicated to us that, and he was the one that coined the term ``analysis paralysis,'' and he indicated to us that so many of the resources of the forest agency are being consumed by not only procedures in court but also preparing to go to court and then filing such an analysis of overwhelming environmental studies hopefully to prevent themselves from having to go to court. I believe that the gentleman's figures of 40 percent and upwards are indeed quoted from Mr. Bosworth's testimony.

I think that is one of the key components in this forest health restoration act and that is allowing for that opportunity to go to court if that is necessary, but the players must be part of the process prior to the plan being delivered and then taking them to court later.

As the gentleman will recall, many times in the testimony that we received in the Committee on Resources last year, there would be one or two of these interest groups that would be involved in the planning process, that would be involved in the environmental analysis, in the NEPA process and all the public hearings, and they would be agreeing and they would be working with the forest service; and then when the forest service had blocked the sale, the sale in some cases had gone through, then another interest group that had never had a dog in the fight suddenly rushes over to court with a $20 bill and then a 34 cent stamp, and filed an action to stay any future action on that sale.

In many cases, if it were the restoration or the recovery from a burn or some other kind of insect infestation, the opportunity window for harvesting what good that can come out of that forest was lost.

That is right, and I think some of the pictures that the gentleman will show later will be very obvious in what can happen to a healthy forest that is overgrown and weakened as a result of the closing canopy and weakened as a result of the overgrowth.

I can tell my colleague that testimony I received up in a little town called Grangeville, Idaho, just last weekend, my colleague, Senator Craig from the Senate, who is from Idaho, joined me in that hearing, and we were told that in many cases there is as much as 80 tons per acre of fuel that has grown as a result of lack of harvest.

We had a sustainable yield, sustainable harvest program for years; and when we got away from that and took a passive attitude toward the management of our forests, the watershed, the habitat, the result was that the forest continued to grow. It did not stop. The forest continued to grow; and as a result, we have had a tremendous overgrowth, and just as is the case with any species, we get them crowded in too close of an area and if one gets sick, they all get sick; and that is where we are with our forests.

The other thing I would like to bring to my colleague's attention is the picture he shows there, the one closest to him which would be on the left. When we have that healthy a fuel loaded, what happens when that forest does burn, just as it shows there, it burns so hot that it actually calcines the Earth; and when it calcines the Earth 16, 18, 20 inches deep, it burns all of the natural nutrients right out of the soil. So the result is that nothing will grow there for years and years. It is like trying to grow something in a jar of marbles. There is not anything to hold the root system. There is not anything to feed the root system.

The big blowup that I referred to in my opening statement, part of the big burn of that 3 million acres was a place in Idaho in the St. Joe, just up from the St. Joe called Slate Creek, and that

fire was in 1910, and today there are still areas in those reaches where nothing grows because the nutrients were burnt out of the soil over a hundred years ago, and there has been nothing to replace it.

Let me just go ahead and make one more analogy for anybody that may be watching this.

In the old days I know when I was growing up and we raked the leaves and everything in the fall of the year, we would rake them up into a pile; and if we burn them on the lawn, if we even have that little bit of fuel, even that little bit of heat, we would have a spot there for years to come. Just imagine magnifying that by 100 or 150 times and then how long that that spot is going to be there.

And sometimes it gets to the point where good people get very frustrated. I know in Idaho we have had some good people quit the Federal agencies there because of the fact that they just were not allowed to do their job, and they just got frustrated and they left.

Another aspect of that is since 1989, just 14 short years, we have shut down half of our ability to saw logs. We have shut down half of our lumber mills, about 37 lumber mills thus far. All those jobs are gone.

We get to the point that in many places in Idaho, these small communities that lived and worked for generation after generation, that grew up in those communities, school systems counted on those communities, the infrastructure around it, and when those lumber mills shut down, the towns died, the schools went away, and people then transferred. They end up having to transfer into the more populated areas, and to then go through vocational education to get a new job, ruining the historical fabric, ruining the work ethic, if you will, of the folks not only in the agencies, but also those folks that watched their grandfathers and grandmothers and their mothers and fathers that grew up in those areas, that went to college from those areas, and then came back to become silvaculturalists or become foresters because their great effort in life, their great desire in life was to go to work for the Forest Service.

I have traveled around the world in many capacities. In my private business capacity I was the president of the international division, and between that and being the Lieutenant Governor of Idaho for 14 years, it was my job to sell our groceries, to get around the world and strut our stuff and show these other countries what we had, and in the process I went to some 82 different countries. One of the things I found, when we got into some of these developing countries, is that they wanted to know about the School of Forestry, the College of Forestry at the University of Idaho. It had a reputation worldwide.

I talked with the President here just a while back and he said, you know, we may have to close down that school. We have already closed down some of the other natural resource schools because nobody is managing them anymore. We are making all our decisions in court. None of the decisions are being made on the forest floor. None of the decisions are really being made for the health and the cleanliness of the watershed, for the health and cleanliness of the water itself, the streams that run into those reaches of the mountains. As a result, we are losing our national reputation. We are losing, unfortunately, one of our real national heritages in our culture.

We have had some great rains. In fact, the farmers all call them million-dollar rains. I think Bonneville Power said the other day they had an $80 million week, the week that it rained so hard up in the Pacific Northwest. Because of the watershed, because of the snow and the watershed going into the reservoirs, they were going to have much more water in those reservoirs for the production of power than they thought they were going to have.

But any time there is that much fuel, and as the gentleman knows, come July and August when we hit those 100, 105 day temperatures out in the West, out in our country, out in the Rockies, that is going to dry that fuel. And unless we graze it with the cattle or have some other method of removing that, we are going to have that stairstep that the gentleman talked about, that stepladder that the gentleman talked about. We will have the grasses low, which will then meet the interface of the browse and the brush itself, and then right on up into the trees.

Tomorrow is not too soon. And I know, looking at Idaho, where we have the overgrowth, where we have high unemployment, all these counties that I talked about where that 1910 fire went up, I have six counties that run right up through that vein where that 1910 fire went that all have double-digit unemployment, they are all ready to go to work. All we need to do is to pass the hiring mechanism, and that hiring mechanism, that action mechanism is this bill.

Mr. Speaker, there are 435 of us in the United States House of Representatives. We come from almost every imaginable race, religion, creed and family background. Our political persuasions run the gamut of the American experience, and we sometimes seem to have 435 distinctly different viewpoints on any given issue.

Yet every one of us in the House--indeed, everyone on Capitol Hill-- has at least one thing in common, and we cherish it most dearly. We all are the sons and daughters of the mothers who gave us life, who did their best to nurture and teach us, protect and care for us. For each of us, no matter how close or distant it since has become, that mother- and-child bond was the first formative influence on the people we were to become.

That bond and formative influence is as strong as ever for me. I am incredibly fortunate to have the warm affection and sage advice of my Mother still in my life. I was the sixth of Regina Otter's nine children. Not a day goes by that I don't draw inspiration from her physical, mental and spiritual strength after 88 years in this world. Her example of faith, charity, hard work, selfless dedication to family and friends and individual responsibility remains the standard by which I judge myself. I will forever fall short.

Perhaps more of our public policy debates should be infused with the wisdom of our mothers. Would we behave as selfishly, as myopically, if at crucial moments we recalled what Mom would want? Would we feel so compelled to seek out the political benefit, to place the short-term advantage over the long-term good, if Mom were there to remind us-- sweetly but firmly--of the simple but profound truths of right and wrong?

Those of us in public life sometimes fall into the trap of believing our own press clippings--at least the positive ones. We think ourselves grand, elected by the good people of the world's oldest democracy, entrusted with the will of the greatest nation on Earth. At such times we would do well to remember the words of George Bernard Shaw, who said, ``Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.''

Mothers do that.

Yes, fathers also are incredibly important to strong families. Despite decades of social experimentation, research and analysis, no sound substitute has been found for the values, structured growth and sense of mutual dependence one finds in a traditional family unit for those fortunate enough to have it.

But make no mistake: Mothers are the anchors holding families in place against the gales, and the engines that enable them to progress toward their goals even through stormy seas. They are the lodestar on which we all depend to find our way through life. They are the shining examples of compassion and love to which we all aspire. And they are the souls of frail humanity who evoke the best from us when times are at their worst.

So on this Mother's Day, and every day, take some time to honor the one who made you who you are. Whether they are with you still or passed to a better place, the gesture will be noticed and appreciated. And you will be a better person for it.

Thank you, Mom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and praise the students of the Orofino High School Government Class for participating in the ``We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution'' national contest. The following students were recognized as the state winners: Tarina Anderson, Kelly Burge, Rachel Burrell, Sam Christiansen, Kayleen Copeland, Melissa Dangman, David Dobyns, Desirae Downing, Whitney Gochnour, Maggie Hall, Holly Jones, Mallory Larson, Hana Nedoma, Terra Rintelen, Brianna Savage, Jessica Silva, and Kyle Stanley. They competed in the national contest in Washington, D.C., displaying their knowledge of the government institutions of the United States and the ideals upon which our democratic form of government is based. Their teacher, Cindy Wilson, also should be commended for her commitment to teaching Constitutional principles and instilling an appreciation for civic participation in her students.

Mr. Chairman, unfortunately I missed the votes on H.R. 1596 the ``Timothy Michael Gaffney Post Office Building Designation Act,'' H.R. 1625 the ``Robert P. Hammer Post Office Building Designation Act,'' and H.R. 1740 the ``Dr. Caesar A.W. Clark, Sr. Post Office Building Designation Act.'' Had I been present, I would have voted for these bills.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Al Henderson of Boise, Idaho as the recipient of The Salvation Army's William Booth Award for service to community. The William Booth Award is one of the highest awards that may be conveyed upon an individual by The Salvation Army.

Al Henderson's many past civic associations include being co-founder of Idaho Working Partners and the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame, The Salvation Army advisory board chairman, Chamber of Commerce board member, Rotary Club member, American Cancer Society, West Side Optimists Club and the Boise City Library Board. Mr. Henderson is also closely involved with the good works of the University Christian Church in Boise. Currently he serves part time as an employee for the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate Al Henderson for his receipt of this distinguished award. I have had the honor of being personally acquainted with Al for many years, and I can think of no other person more worthy or deserving of such an award. I have been inspired by Al's principled character and his steadfast commitment to the State of Idaho. His achievements, continued unselfish work, and sense of community serve as a lustrous model of exemplary citizenship.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the House the distinguished accomplishments of Courtney Floyd of Boise, Idaho. Courtney is the recipient of the Salvation Army's Emily Reno award for service to community.

Courtney, the daughter of Greg and Suzanne Floyd, is a senior at Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho, where she serves as a student council officer, cheerleader, and member of the Key Club. In addition to her extensive involvement in school activities, Courtney has served her community in various volunteer capacities--through her involvement with Special Olympics, soup kitchens, humanitarian aid projects, and retirement centers.

A key element in the Salvation Army's Christmas food drives; Courtney has initiated the collection of more than 590,000 pounds of food for the needy during the past 3 years. Mr. Speaker, I wish to convey a special thanks to Courtney Floyd for her hard work and sense of community. Courtney's unselfish actions epitomize the ministry and mission of the Salvation Army.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and praise the singular vision of a family business in my district whose proprietors understand the value of service. John and Tona Henderson own The Rumor Mill Bakery at 4th and Washington Streets in Emmett, Idaho. Tona does all the baking for the shop, which has become known for its patriotic spirit as well as its pastries.

One day in July 2002, six gentlemen from the community met for their usual coffee and conversation when the idea came up of putting photographs on the walls of local veterans and active duty military personnel. Tona approved, and made theirs the first photographs to go up. More than 100 photos have since been added to the walls of The Rumor Mill Bakery, and Tona has a story to go with each and every one. The tears in her eyes reveal the heartfelt patriotism and pride she feels in sharing each tale. Tona hopes someday to completely cover the walls of her business with the images of American heroes, past and present. Her expression of support for community and country is an inspiration to everyone who stops by The Rumor Mill Bakery. I'm proud to represent the Hendersons, as well as the men and women of our Armed Forces who are honored on their walls.

Mr. Chairman, unfortunately I missed the vote on the Vitter amendment to H.R. 1350, Improving Education Results for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003. Had I been present I would have voted for the amendment.

Announcement by the Chairman Pro Tempore

Mr. Speaker, just as railroads brought prosperity to small towns in rural America during the Industrial Revolution, glass fibers and silicon wafers are driving today's Information Age. Data is the commodity in this new economic revolution, and it can travel at the speed of light.

Through E-commerce, rural America can again be revitalized. But this train is bypassing some parts of the country, especially rural areas-- some of which I represent. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must favor policies that foster real competition and promote consumer choice, not bureaucracy and regulation. FCC policies should not create disincentives for companies to deploy new fiber solely because they may have more resources and greater expertise then some of their competitors. Such policies breach the basic principles of the free market: that true competition naturally encourages development of cheaper services and better technologies. True competition can never exist if regulators insist on creating competitive parity in the industry at the expense of advancing technology.

Mr. Speaker, as we examine the development and deployment of high- speed communications technologies, we must ensure the existence of true competition, we must restore consumer driven integrity to the market, and we must not stifle progress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Master Sergeant Samuel Johnston and the proud community of Kuna, Idaho. Sergeant Johnston is serving in the Iraq War as a member of the Idaho National Guard. He was deployed to Kuwait in January--leaving his 60-acre farm unattended. Last week his neighbors in Kuna finished spring planting on the Johnston farm.

Francis Murphey organized the volunteer group consisting of Dick Deutsche, Alan White, Leonard Flynn, Darrell Lee Robertson, Dave Reynolds, Jack Noble, John McPherson, Lavar K. and Layne Thornton, and Ed, Gayle and Roger Hodges.

I bring to the attention of the House these residents of Kuna, Idaho as they exemplify the American spirit of cooperation and patriotism by providing for Sergeant Johnston and his family--while he, in turn, serves and protects our country.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to address H.R. 1036, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. In light of the concerted efforts by opponents of the Second Amendment to destroy the gun industry through frivolous lawsuits, it has become imperative we provide manufacturers and sellers

of firearms and ammunition protection from these attacks. I find the idea of holding an industry liable for the criminal misuse of their legal products deplorable. Our nation cannot allow the innocent to pay for the dealings of the guilty, or we serve to circumvent the very foundation of the rule of law. Those individuals, not the makers of the means, who commit violent crimes, with or without the use of a firearm, must take personal responsibility for their actions through the restitution and civil penalties affirmed by law.

Without this legislation, further unfounded lawsuits against the gun industry will lead to an encroachment upon our second amendment rights. Congress must work diligently to reduce the level of political rhetoric surrounding gun control, protect the Second Amendment, and promote the role of personal responsibility in society.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call the attention of my colleagues to a stirring essay written by a young woman from my district, Eagle High School senior Kayleigh Jack. She is this year's Idaho State winner of GOPUSA's Young Patriots Essay Contest. In describing a visit to New York City and her encounter with a homeless veteran named ``Sarge'' who was seeking shelter near Ground Zero, Kayleigh paints a stark picture of the visceral impact that the events of September 11, 2001, had on millions of Americans like Sarge who have sacrificed for our freedoms. More than that, her work provides a valuable and hopeful insight into the hearts and minds of young people like her. The lessons of the past truly are learned anew with each lifetime. Kayleigh's essay shows just how profound that earned wisdom can be. I am grateful for the help in understanding more clearly that there is a generation growing to adulthood that now grasps what makes America, its people, principles and institutions so great.

Idaho State Winner--Kayleigh C. Jack Eagle, ID, Eagle High School,

Public, 12th Grade

On a cold cement step sits a scruffy man in heavy clothing.

A small American flag is propped atop his knapsack. Behind

him, a fading golden hue illuminates a gaping hole in the

earth where two magnificent towers once stood. For Sarge, it

will be another cold night in the Big Apple.

On September 11, Americans were awakened to gleaming knives

slicing through America's seemingly impenetrable national

security. For older Americans, it was Pearl Harbor

reawakened. For younger Americans, like me, these were new

sounds, new visions--new feelings.

During a recent trip to New York City, I felt a discomfort

when seeing Sarge, a homeless veteran, huddled near ground

zero. I again felt that same discomfort while staring into

the cold empty crevasse behind him. I later realized how much

the man and the victims of September 11 had in common; all

paid the price for freedom... for being Americans.

All of my life, I've sat in the comfort of my secure home

and watched televised scenes from distant lands of people

whose loss of liberty meant the loss of life. But, until

September 11th, I've never been truly touched by these

images. Now, reflecting on September 11th and remembering

Sarge near ground zero, I feel threatened... and grateful.

While flying home from New York, I thought about the

generosity and patriotism following September 11th. I

wondered about the flag in front of my home. Was I a good

American or just part of a passing national fervor? What

about Sarge? Outside the VA Hospital a sign reads, The Price

of Freedom is Visible Here. According to the National

Coalition for the Homeless, 40% of all homeless are

veterans... just like Sarge.

In appreciating what it means to be an American, my brother

and I brought flowers to the Idaho State Veterans Home.

Inside, experts on the topic warmly shared their views:

respect the flag, constitution and one-another; be faithful;

appreciate blessings and liberties as well as those who

sacrificed for them; learn from the past; confront mistakes

and shortcomings--regardless the discomfort.

While driving away, we passed a white-haired man pushing a

walker. When he smiled and flashed a thumbs up, something

said to turn back. His name was Bernard Wolff (WWII-Army).

Amid falling leaves and scurrying squirrels, we shared a

bench while he recounted exciting, yet tragic memories.

Softly, he said, ``Nothing worthwhile in life is free--

especially freedom. The price is how we live it; being

informed, making votes count, finding common ground, not

taking anything for granted... making sacrifices.'' He

thanked us for making his day. But really, he made ours.

I will always remember where I was on the morning of

September 11th. I will always remember Sarge sitting near

ground zero. I will not allow my 9/11 patriotism to become a

passing fad. I will regularly visit the Veterans Home with my

violin ensemble and take moments out of my life to honor

those who paid the ultimate price so this nation might remain

a beacon of hope for all who value freedom, justice, and

liberty. It is but a small price for me, but a huge part of

what it means to be an American. Conquered and oppressed are

countries who forget their heroes.

Mr. Chairman, I join my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), on the floor today, as I joined him on the floor not too long ago when all of us sat in this Chamber and listened to these words: ``If they are not with us, they are against us.''

I think that acid test that was asked for, not too long ago, we asked that question of our friends in Turkey. That question was asked and they failed that test.

True democracies are joined irreversibly at the heart and soul with one great and unyielding truth, that is, their belief in freedom. This surely was

a test of the love of our freedom for this entire world and this entire effort we are engaged in; freedom, I might add, that swears perpetual hostility over any form of tyranny.

I believe this country should have understood, if they had lived that long with that close of a neighbor, that if they did not understand the tyranny that such a tyrant as their neighbor in Iraq was leading that country with, surely they understood that.

I would just close by asking my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham), what would be the price that would have been paid when the wingman left the gentleman's wing the first time?

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring to the attention of the House the distinguished accomplishments of the Boundary County District Library in Bonners Ferry, ID. Under the leadership of Director Sandy Ashworth, the Boundary County District Library received the 2002 National Award for Library Services. The Institute of Museum and Library Services and First Lady Laura Bush bestowed this well-deserved honor upon the library at a White House ceremony.

Established in 1956, the Boundary County District Library was the first countywide library district in the State of Idaho. The library is dedicated to using innovative collaborations in raising both the quality and quantity of library resources while helping to overcome the rural isolation of Boundary County's residents.

The Boundary County District Library is a model for the community and the State of Idaho, as well as for other libraries trying to meet increasing demand for services with less money. The library and the community work together toward the common goals of providing excellent service and improving the quality of life in northern Idaho.

Mr. Speaker, I was honored to nominate the Boundary County District Library for this special award. Furthermore, I am very proud of the independent nature of Boundary County, ID, and citizens, whose hard work and sense of community should serve as an inspiration to us all. I wish to convey a special thanks to the Boundary County District Library for leading that effort.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express the deep sorrow I share with every Idahoan at the loss of Maj. Gregory Stone. Maj. Stone died early Tuesday at an Army field hospital in Kuwait, the second man to die from wounds suffered in a grenade attack last Saturday on soldiers at Camp Pennsylvania. Maj. Stone was the Air Liaison Officer there with the Army's 101st Airborne Division.

He was a highly trained military officer with 20 years of distinguished Air Force and Idaho Air National Guard service. Maj. Stone died in a theater of war on the other side of the world, fighting to free a foreign people from tyranny and his own countrymen from fear. In that, he was true to America's most cherished values and traditions. The example of his citizenship and dedication to duty, and how we all seek to emulate it, will be his enduring legacy.

Yet it was as a son and father of two young boys living in Boise that Gregory Stone will be best and most dearly remembered. The sadness felt by the people of a proud and grateful state pales by comparison with his family's grief at his passing. I can only offer them my humble condolences, and the hope that a sure knowledge of Gregory's self- sacrifice and heroism will provide some succor in the difficult days to come.

Maj. Stone embodied the best of America. I am proud to represent the family of such a man. They have my personal thanks, and a promise to preserve those virtues for which their loved one gave the last full measure of devotion.